Search This Blog

Subscribe to this blog

Follow by Email

My Oxford Year - review and blog tour

My Oxford Year by Julia WhelanPublication date: April 24, 2018Publisher: William Morrow PaperbacksSource: Publisher for an honest review

Description:

American Ella Durran has had the same plan for her life
since she was thirteen: Study at Oxford. At 24, she’s finally made it to
England on a Rhodes Scholarship when she’s offered an unbelievable position in
a rising political star’s presidential campaign. With the promise that she’ll
work remotely and return to DC at the end of her Oxford year, she’s free to
enjoy her Once in a Lifetime Experience. That is, until a smart-mouthed local
who is too quick with his tongue and his car ruins her shirt and her first day.
When Ella discovers that her English literature course will be taught by none
other than that same local, Jamie Davenport, she thinks for the first time that
Oxford might not be all she’s envisioned. But a late-night drink reveals a
connection she wasn’t anticipating finding and what begins as a casual fling
soon develops into something much more when Ella learns Jamie has a
life-changing secret. Immediately, Ella is faced with a seemingly impossible
decision: turn her back on the man she’s falling in love with to follow her
political dreams or be there for him during a trial neither are truly prepared
for. As the end of her year in Oxford rapidly approaches, Ella must decide if
the dreams she’s always wanted are the same ones she’s now yearning for.

My Take:

The whole premise of My Oxford Year - from the title itself to the dream-come-true aspect of spending a year at Oxford able to study whatever your heart desires - appealed to me very much.

I loved that even though Ella is an accomplished policy wonk on the rise in the American political scene, she is still an awkward, star-struck American in England and trying desperately not to look too much like what she is. I think most of us can relate.

I really enjoyed the smaller characters in the book. There is Hugh, the first person Ella meets at Oxford - he is so British, quiet, with understated humor - I really liked him. Charlie and Maggie are two of Ella's classmates and friends. They are really funny and have lots of crazy, adorable adventures with Ella. And then there is poor Tom - he is socially awkward and pretty clueless, but a fun addition to the group.

Ella almost gets run over by Jamie Davenport and he ends up being the instructor for her class - of course. At first, I wasn't overly thrilled by this plot point - it just seem too cliche -- but it grew on me as the characters grew and their relationship was developed. There were some pretty standard things in the story line, but there were quite a few things that made the story pretty unique and it grew on me as I advanced through the novel. I appreciated that none of the characters are perfect, they all have flaws, but they grow and learn from experience. As a reader, I had to drop preconceived ideas about characters pretty quickly because Whelan likes to play with cliches and kind of turn them around on you. I like that.

Another plus for me was the number of literature jokes, and a fair amount of literary analysis and criticism spread throughout the novel. I mean, you pretty much have to include some literary references if your main character is reading literature at Oxford, right?

There were a few surprises in the novel - I anticipated a big one, but then Whelan turned it around on me and took it in a direction that I hadn't seen coming. I do like a surprise in my reading. I really enjoyed My Oxford Year and will definitely be recommending it to all my friends.

About the author:

Julia Whelan is a screenwriter, lifelong actor, and
award-winning audiobook narrator. She graduated with a degree in English and creative
writing from Middlebury College and Oxford University. While she was in
England, her flirtation with tea blossomed into a full-blown love affair,
culminating in her eventual certification as a tea master.

Curly-haired brunettes with blue eyes are the only women that seem to capture Keith’s attention. But is it really their appearance that attracts him or something sinister? Keith, a broken soul, who’s battling between good and evil, goes about his days trying to fight his evil urges. But because of a demonic stronghold, in most instances good loses the battle to evil.

Affected by the pain and hurt of his childhood, he now seeks out the love he didn’t receive as a child. But when he doesn’t get it, there’s retribution to pay…and what a sad day it is for those curly-haired brunettes with blue eyes who fail to make the mark. But things take a turn when he meets a grocery store cashier who has the ability to see evil th…

I am happy to participate in the blog tour for the new book by James MacManus, Sleep in Peace Tonight. I previously reviewed his book Black Venus and quite enjoyed it. Please enjoy the excerpt.

Sleep in Peace Tonight by James MacManusPublication date: October 7, 2014 by Thomas Dunne BooksDescription:It’s January 1941, and
the Blitz is devastating England. Food supplies are low, Tube stations
in London have become bomb shelters, and U-boats have hampered any hope
of easy victory. Though the United States maintains its isolationist
position, Churchill knows that England is finished without the aid of
its powerful ally.

Harry Hopkins, President Roosevelt’s most
trusted adviser, is sent to London as his emissary, and there he falls
under the spell of Churchill’s commanding rhetoric---and legendary
drinking habits. As he experiences life in a country under attack,
Hopkins questions the United States’ silence in the war. But back home
FDR is paranoid about the isolationist lobby, an…

A Drama in Muslin by George Moorebought from Kennys BookshopSummary from Goodreads: A reprint of the first edition written in the 1880s, this is generally considered to be the best version of one of Moore's greatest books. Set in Ireland in the 1880s against a backdrop of Land League troubles in Co. Mayo, and in Dublin, where the social life revolves around the Vice-Regal court in Dublin Castle, this depicts the efforts of a mother trying to catch socially suitable husbands for her daughters, and chronicles the results. My Take: This was an interesting book for a number of reasons. I like Irish history and the book takes place in the 1880's in western Ireland during the activities of the Land League, so there is the historical aspect to it. But the most interesting thing was the picture it painted of the lives of five girls born into the gentry of the West of Ireland. They had been sent to a girls school for much of their lives and when they were of age, they had to join society…

I am a wife and home schooling mother of three with a degree in English Literature and a huge appetite for reading. I read most types of books, but I am particularly fond of Victorian fiction, urban fantasy, some YA, sci fi, historical fiction, and the list could go on.

Indie Bound

NetGalley Challenge 2016

NetGalley Challenge

Instagram

Facebook Badge

FTC Disclaimer

Unless otherwise indicated, all of the books I review are either purchased by me or borrowed from the library.

When a review copy has been received from an author, publisher or company, it is in exchange for a fair review and has no effect on my opinion of the book. There is no monetary compensation for reviews. All reviews are my own personal reaction to and opinion of the book.

Purchases made through my affiliate links will earn me a small percentage which is used to maintain this blog.